Having your hours cut, especially without warning, can hit your income almost as hard as a layoff. Depending on how big the cut is, how long it lasts and what your contract says, the law can treat it in three different ways: as a temporary layoff under your province’s employment standards, as a constructive dismissal, or as part of a federal Work-Sharing agreement that adds EI income support. This page explains each one. Other workplace disputes are listed in the workplace rights and employee benefits hub.
The short answer
- A deep cut in hours can count as a layoff under employment standards, even while you still work some shifts. In Ontario and BC that happens in a week you earn less than half your usual pay, and a layoff that runs past the provincial limit becomes a termination.
- A significant, unilateral cut that your contract doesn’t allow may be a constructive dismissal, which lets you treat the change as a termination and claim notice or severance.
- You can collect EI while still working reduced hours for the same employer only under a formal Work-Sharing agreement that your employer sets up with Service Canada. There is no general partial-EI option for an hours cut on its own.
When reduced hours count as a temporary layoff
Employment standards laws don’t guarantee a minimum number of hours, but some provinces treat a big enough drop in earnings as a week of layoff even if you still work part of the week:
- Ontario: a “week of lay-off” is a week in which you earn less than half of what you would ordinarily earn (or earn on average) in a week.
- British Columbia: if your hours are reduced, you are considered laid off when you earn less than 50% of your weekly wages at the regular rate, averaged over the previous eight weeks you worked.
Each province also caps how long a temporary layoff can last before it becomes a termination that triggers notice or termination pay:
| Province | Maximum temporary layoff |
|---|---|
| Ontario | Not more than 13 weeks of lay-off in any period of 20 consecutive weeks, or less than 35 weeks in any 52 consecutive weeks if, among other conditions, the employer keeps making substantial payments to you or keeps paying into your group benefits plan |
| British Columbia | 13 weeks in any 20-week period |
| Alberta | 90 days in a 120-day period; you are terminated on the 91st day if you haven’t gone back to work |
Two points matter for a reduced-hours dispute:
- A layoff the contract doesn’t allow can still be a constructive dismissal. Ontario’s employment standards guide notes that “a lay-off, even if intended to be temporary, may result in constructive dismissal if it is not allowed by the employment contract.” Alberta’s guide notes that some courts have held an employee laid off without a contract or collective agreement allowing it “maintains the right to sue for constructive or wrongful dismissal.” BC says temporary layoffs must be normal and expected in the industry, part of the employment contract, or agreed to by the employee; otherwise the layoff may be considered a termination of employment.
- Once the layoff limit is passed, your employer owes the same entitlements as if it had ended your job: the notice period guide covers statutory notice and termination pay, and severance pay in Canada covers severance and common-law reasonable notice.
Other provinces and territories set their own layoff rules; the provincial employment standards office can say how a reduced week is counted where you work.
Is it constructive dismissal?
A permanent, significant cut to your hours that you didn’t agree to can amount to constructive dismissal. Alberta’s employment standards page lists “a significant change in work location, hours of work, or position” among its examples, and adds that employees “must quit soon after a change in employment conditions” for constructive dismissal to apply. How courts weigh the size and length of the cut, whether you objected and what your contract allows is covered in the wrongful and constructive dismissal guide.
People in this situation usually choose between two paths:
- Object in writing and keep working. A short written note saying you don’t accept the reduction and reserve your rights keeps your job and income while you get advice. Working the new schedule for a long time without objecting can be read as accepting it.
- Resign and claim constructive dismissal. If the cut is severe and permanent, you can treat it as a termination and claim the notice you would have been owed. The risk is that you have to prove the change was fundamental, which is why many people get legal advice before resigning.
EI and reduced hours: Work-Sharing
Regular EI benefits are built around an “interruption of earnings,” which normally means at least 7 consecutive days with no work and no pay from your employer. A reduction in hours while you remain employed doesn’t meet this test on its own, so there is no “cut your hours by a set percentage and apply for partial EI” option outside a formal program.
The way to collect EI while still working reduced hours for the same employer is the federal Work-Sharing Program:
- It is a three-party agreement between the employer, the employees involved and Service Canada, for a temporary decrease in business activity that is beyond the employer’s control.
- It provides income support to employees eligible for EI benefits who work a temporarily reduced work week while the employer recovers.
- Every employee in the agreement must have at least a 10% reduction to their normal weekly earnings, and must agree to the reduced schedule and to share the available work equally.
- An agreement lasts at least 6 weeks and up to 26 weeks; an extension of up to 12 weeks can be requested.
The employer applies, not the employee, so if you are facing a cut you can ask whether a Work-Sharing agreement is possible. If your hours are cut to nothing and you stop working entirely, you may qualify for regular EI: see what to do when you’re laid off.
What your employer can’t do
- Cut hours as retaliation for filing a complaint or taking a job-protected leave. A reprisal can be raised in a complaint to the provincial office: see how to file an employment standards complaint.
- Cut hours to push you to quit and avoid paying termination or severance pay.
- Change hours in a way that breaches a written employment contract guaranteeing full-time hours.
Your benefits when hours are cut
Some group benefit plans set a minimum number of weekly hours to stay covered, so a cut in hours can also end your health, dental or life coverage. How a group benefits plan defines eligibility is set out in the plan booklet. If your employer also cuts your benefits, what to do when your employer changes your benefits explains how that adds to a constructive dismissal claim.
Frequently asked questions
Can my employer reduce my hours instead of laying me off? An employer can schedule fewer hours as an operational decision, but a deep cut can itself count as a layoff under employment standards (in Ontario and BC, a week you earn less than half your usual pay), and a significant permanent cut your contract doesn’t allow may be a constructive dismissal.
What if my hours were reduced and then restored? A short reduction during a difficult period that ends with your normal hours back is less likely to be treated as a dismissal than a permanent one. How long the reduction lasted, whether it stayed within your province’s temporary layoff limit and whether you objected at the time all matter.
I was told I’m a contractor, so my hours can change at any time. Is that right? Not necessarily. If the working relationship looks like employment, you may have been misclassified as a contractor, and employment standards protections would apply to you; how the CRA decides between the two is on contractor vs employee.
Related reading
- My Employer Is Not Paying Overtime in Canada: What To Do
- My Employer Won’t Give Me a ROE: What To Do in Canada
- Before You Quit Your Job: Financial Checklist
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